Corrections

Correction text posted on 9/6/23:

The question for the initial map relating to women’s mobility within the country has been edited from “Can women leave their homes without guardian permission?” to “Can women leave their homes without permission from their husband or other guardian without facing possible sanction?” This was to provide further clarity to reflect that the map looks at countries where authorities provided for sanctions that can be imposed on women who leave the home without permission from their husband or other guardian. The map and the report details countries that have personal status or family laws that specifically relate to how women can be denied spousal maintenance if they leave or move out of the home without their husbands’ permission. It also looks beyond the personal status and family laws to other sanctions such as where authorities allow male guardians to report women for ‘absence’ from their homes, which can lead to their arrest and forcible return home or administrative detention. 

Updates:

Following publication of the report on July 18, 2023, Human Rights Watch received two further responses by authorities in Bahrain on August 1, 2023 and Tunisia on August 10, 2023 to our letters directed to them in June. These responses contain no information that would necessitate changes to the report. The letters on Bahrain and Tunisia can be found in the appendix of the report for further information. Human Rights Watch is grateful to the authorities for their responses.

7/18/2023: This news release has been adjusted to reflect the most updated list of countries that allow male guardians to ban women's travel abroad. 

The annotation in the fifth photo has been corrected to identify the carrier section in the field as a "rocket remnant."

8/17/2023: This page reflects updated death toll figures from the February 6, 2023, earthquakes, as reported by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.  

6/9: This report has been updated to accurately reflect the details of the prohibition of contact orders, that pre-trial detainees are not allowed to call anyone, except in a few exceptional cases in which calls with lawyers have been permitted

5/26/2023: This version of the press release accurately reflects when and how Mohamed Ben Salem was first questioned by an investigative judge. 

This dispatch has been updated to include “to trial” in the first paragraph.

This article was updated soon after publication to clarify the sequence of events between Russia and the Council of Europe.

Reports received from multiple sources that Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom died on the way to the hospital on April 29, 2023, proved to be false. On the evening of May 3, Anousa’s family and other sources provided Human Rights Watch verbal confirmation and photographic evidence that Anousa survived the shooting and is now receiving medical treatment in a hospital in Vientiane, Laos. Human Rights Watch emphasizes the responsibility of the Lao government to ensure protection for Anousa while he recovers, and to undertake a thorough and impartial investigation into the shooting.